


Valley of a Thousand Thorns.

by TayBartlett9000



Category: The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Genre: Adventure, Courage, Danger, Dark, Death, Escape, Family, Friendship, Future, Gen, Hatred, Hope, Injections, Journey, Lab rat, Mankind, NIMH, Rats, Science, Theft, Valley, Violence, advanced intelligence, forest, hardship, laboratory, laboratory life, morrality, rose bush - Freeform, scientific experimentation, struggles, thorn valley
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-21 22:12:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14294574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TayBartlett9000/pseuds/TayBartlett9000
Summary: Nicodemus started life as an ordinary rat with no desires beyond the longing for food and shelter, and needing nothing else besides. But when an  ordinary excursion to the  market place goes  horribly wrong, he and nineteen of his fellows are taken by white coated laboratory workers, and plunged  straight into the jaws of their worst  nightmare. They must now  live the lives of lab rats, gradually  becoming aware of the  scientists' plans for them. But as advanced intelligence takes its hold, they are siezed with the desperation to escape this   torturous nightmare and run  towards freedom. But to truly achieve freedom, they must abandon all that they know in favour of what  they  have  only speculated and  feared. Knowledge is power, and they must use it wisely.





	Valley of a Thousand Thorns.

**Author's Note:**

> Mischief: A group or famly of rats.

The warm and  comfortable darkness  surrounded Nicodemus as he lay snuggled beneath a pile of fluffy bodies, eyes closed tight and whiskers twitching. He knew the scent of every animal within their   mischief as if it were his own and as they slept on, Nicodemus lifted a paw and sleepily scratched his itching nose before laying down again, closing his eyes and sighing deeply.  

His mother lay close bye, half asleep and  keeping one wary eye on her kittens as  if they were  a mere few weeks old rather than a few months. The other females, old and young lay close to their respective families and the high pitched squeaks of the kittens left awake permiated the warm air around him. Around the  perimitre of their rat pile, the bucks lay watching and protecting those they loved and cared for. The bucks, many of them fathers of kittens themselves, knew how vital a job it was to keep everybody safe. Too often, their den had been set upon by animals twice their size, foxes and badgers mostly, though owls of every breed imagionable had also attempted to tear their lives asunder. Fear of  predators had been  bred into the bones of every rat now lying here and each knew that protecting the den and the mischief at large was   crutial if  each rat was to   survive  to old age.

Nicodemus felt safe though as he lay nessled between and beside his nearest and dearest. On his left, Pebble – named for his blue-grey coat, lay sleeping peacefully, legs jerking slightly as if the  kitten was dreaming of running, which he probably was. To his right, Jenner lay, squeaking in his sleep and grinding his teeth, the noise loud in this  peaceful haven.

Nicodemus rolled onto his side, listening to the sleep sounds around him,  knowing that this slumber would last only a few  moments longer. Beyond  the safety of the den, Nicodemus could hear the sounds of the  evening chorus of the birds. The nighttime creatures were slowly stepping out of hiding. He knew that the night would soon be upon them.

Nicodemus lifted his head, careful not to dislodge a kitten who lay sleeping across his back. A twinge of hunger began to claw at his stomach and he yawned widely.  It would soon be time to venture out into the world beyond and find some food, for they were running low on resources once again. They had last ventured into the world of mankind three lights and darks previously, and there was little food around for any of them to eat. The few scraps left had been designated to the new born kittens, who needed everything they could get to survive, for the warmth of Spring had not yet arrived.  He would of course be chosen, for Nicodemus was famous throughout the mischief for his speed and resourcefulness. He was a natural at scavenging and he knew better than anyone else among them where the best and most  nurrishing food was kept, or more likely than not, thrown away. Jenner would be by his side, as he normally was when they were sent out  along with the younger females to the market place, for Jenner was  renouned for his strength. He  could carry more food than most, and his bullying nature meant that he  could -  and often did,  restle the best pieces of food away from  rats from other dens. . Jenner’s aggressive nature was a useful asset when they were out in the open. Though his anger towards smaller creatures than himself got him into trouble with their elders, and often resulted in friction between him and the placid Nicodemus, Jenner’s   defiance towards the looming presence of man had saved his pelt on more than a couple of occasions.

Presently, the large group around him stirred, and a few of the older does began to rouse their young. It seemed that every mind was now strictly focused on food, and in a few moments, Nicodemus  was standing at the entrance to the den, just one in a group of twenty rats who were all looking towards the slowly fading light as it receded. Their noses twitched in unison as the kircophony of scents hit them. The man who  presided over the  small  wooded area in which they lived   had been here recently. The scent of man was  everywhere, the heady tang of tobacco assaulting their delicate nostrils.

“Do you think the man’s still around?” Pebble asked, twisting round to wash his paw before straightening up again, eyes fixated on the entrance to the den. His body was stiff with urgency, and Nicodemus could see the fear in those black eyes.

Jenner fluffed out his furr in a display of anger. Nicodemus nudged his flank gently, knowing that his brother’s anger and unspoken fear towards man would not lead to this being  an enjoyable day. “He’d better not be,” he hissed, “because I will make life very difficult for him if he is.”

His brothers ignored his outburst. Jenner was the biggest kitten in their litter, and he liked to think of himself as the toughest kitten in the entire mischief, but all knew that his words were little more than blustering.

Pebble flinched as a gust of wind blew up from the west, rippling through the trees and filling his nostrils with the succulent scents of the forest. His eyes rolled  in fear and he took a hesitant step  towards Nicodemus.

Deciding that  remaining crouched at the entrance to their den would only increase the sens of fear felt by all concerned, Nicodemus took a step forward, effortlessly taking charge as he often did during these   excursions to the market place. “Come on then,” he said in a voice that he hoped sounded calm and encouraging, “let’s not hang around. The traffic will get there before us if we stay here for much longer.”

They crept from the den, their bodies crouched low to the ground as  they stepped caushiously into the  open. They knew that each rat was to pay particular  attention to his or her   surroundings at the early stages of their   excursion. Predators would be keeping an eye on the entrances to dens and shelters, and man had a particular talent for  catching an  animal as he or she appeared from their hiding place. Everyone present knew that fact only too well. Nicodemus himself had seen far too many animals snatched from their own dens by mankind and by other animals as they poked their noses out of their holes, and he didn’t want to risk either his own life or the lives of any of his company.

“Quickly,” he said silently to his fellows, rising from his nervous crouch and standing at his full height, pointing his nose towards the market place which was situated a few bounds away from the edge of the wood. He felt more than heard his fellows rising and preparing to move also, as Nicodemus walked into the open, setting off for the market place at a run, long bald tail following in his wake, whiskers aiding in his sense of direction and his nose leading him towards the hub of mankind and towards their greatest source of food.

The ground was bitterly cold beneath Nicodemus’s feet as he led the way across the mossy woodland floor. The crisp scent of frost filled the nostrils of all concerned as they ran, moving swiftly beneath the cover of the trees. The plants were covered with a thick white substance that was cold to the touch. Spring was still a long way off, then. It would be a while before warmth returned to their home. Shivering slightly, Nicodemus increased his spead, longing to get home as soon as he could.

The haunting cry of an owl drifted towards them on the breeze and Pebble, a frightened kitten by nature, shivered again and crouched low to the ground as if the owl was hovering above his head at this very moment.

“Pebble, please hurry,” Nicodemus urged, halting by the tiny rat’s side and nudging his flank gently, “there’s no owl. Hurry up. We need to get this done before everybody goes hungry, and you know how  upset the does get when they’re hungry.”

After much persuasion and encouragement, pebble moved off again, dragging his bald tail behind him. He was indeed most unwilling to move and Nicodemus briefly debated leaving him behind, but thought better of it.

Nicodemus led his group on in silence, legs eating up the space between his home and the market place beyond. Though a rat has no concept of miles, metres and kilometres, each rat knew that the journey was long enough to say the least.  They would soon be in the midst of the busy market place, rummaging in the bins and scavenging what they could from the scraps that the men threw away. By the evenings, there was always a lot of spare food on offer and though Nicodemus knew that many other rats were also driven to places such as these, they would pick up a decent share of food before they headed for home again.  

Nicodemus had a good feeling about tonight.  Tonight, he  and his fellows would eat their fill and take home a bounty that any mischief would be jealous of. They would be a mere few moments in the market place, picking up spilled food and rubbish from the floor and the bins near bye before they would once again set their sights on home. The mischief at large would eat well tonight.  


End file.
